[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 209 (Friday, October 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63172-63173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24207]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection Renewal Submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; OMB Control Number 1018-0095; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, 
50 CFR 17.84, Experimental Populations

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service (We/Service) is requesting OMB to extend an 
existing approval to collect information on some experimental 
populations of threatened and endangered wildlife, as described below. 
We will use the information that we collect to monitor the success of 
reintroduction efforts and recovery efforts in general.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before November 29, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this information collection renewal to 
the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at 
(202) 395-6566 (fax) or at [email protected] (e-mail). Please 
provide a copy of your comments to Hope Grey, Information Collection 
Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, 
MS 222-ARLSQ, Arlington, Virginia 22203 (mail); (703) 358-2269 (fax); 
or [email protected] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection requirement or explanatory information, contact Hope Grey, 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, at the address or fax number 
listed above or by telephone at (703) 358-2482.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have sent a request to OMB to renew 
approval of the information collection requirements for Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife, Experimental Populations. Currently we have 
approval from OMB to collect information under OMB Control Number 1018-
0095, which expires on October 31, 2004. We are requesting a 3-year 
term of approval for this information collection activity. Federal 
agencies may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to 
respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number. OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which 
implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), require that interested members of the public and 
affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). 
Following our submittal, OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove 
our information collection renewal; however, they may respond as early 
as 30 days after our submittal. Therefore, to ensure consideration, 
send your comments and suggestions to OMB by the date listed in the 
DATES section near the beginning of this notice.
    On July 29, 2004, we published a 60-day notice on this information 
collection requirement in the Federal Register (69 FR 45341) and 
invited public comment. The comment period ended on September 27, 2004. 
We received one comment from an individual who opposed collecting 
depredation information from certain groups of individuals, such as 
hunting or trapping clubs. We cannot exclude any group or individual 
from reporting information that they believe may be related to this 
information collection. The commenter did not address the 
appropriateness of the information or the burden hours. Therefore, we 
have not made any changes to our information collection requirements.
    Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) describes 
prohibited acts involving threatened or endangered species (16 U.S.C. 
1538(a)(1)(B)). Information collection and reporting to the Service is 
required for some experimental populations established under section 
10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. We 
collect three major categories of information under the experimental 
population regulations (50 CFR 17.84):
    (1) General take or removal. General take or removal information 
refers to human-related mortality including unintentional taking 
incidental to otherwise lawful activities (e.g., highway mortalities), 
take in defense of human life, take related to defense of property (if 
authorized), or take in the form of authorized harassment. Most 
contacts related to this type of information collection are sightings 
of experimental animals or the inadvertent discovery of an injured or 
dead individual.
    (2) Depredation-related take. Depredation-related take refers to 
take for management purposes where livestock depredation has been 
documented and may include authorized harassment or lethal take of 
experimental animals in the act of attacking livestock. The information 
collected for this type of take is necessary for follow-up reports 
after the Service has authorized harassment or lethal take of 
experimental animals in relation to confirmed instances of livestock 
depredation or in defense of human life.
    (3) Collection of specimens or the recovery of dead animals that 
are part of an experimental population. Specimen collection is for the 
purpose of documenting incidental or authorized scientific collection. 
Most of the information collection requirements for this take pertain 
primarily to the reporting of sightings of experimental population 
animals or the inadvertent discovery of an injured or dead individual. 
The information collected is necessary for follow-up reports when we 
have authorized take of experimental animals for specimen collection.
    Because individuals of designated experimental populations for 
species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA are 
categorically protected, documentation of human-related mortalities, 
recovery of dead specimens, and other types of take related to the 
status of experimental populations are important for monitoring the 
success of reintroduction efforts and recovery efforts in general. To 
minimize potential conflict with humans, which could undermine recovery 
efforts, livestock depredations connected with some experimental 
populations of listed species require prompt attention to (1) determine 
the location, timing, and nature of the predatory behavior involved, 
(2) accurately determine the species responsible for a livestock kill, 
and (3) apply necessary control measures.
    In cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, 
Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, Division of Wildlife 
Services, or other cooperating Federal agencies, we rely on prompt 
public reporting of depredation in order to resolve livestock related 
problems. Therefore, a time sensitive requirement for reporting 
problems (generally within 24 hours) to the appropriate Service office 
is necessary. Cooperating Federal agencies provide the vast majority of 
the information collected by the Service as a result of experimental 
population regulations.

[[Page 63173]]

However, some of the information is provided by the public. Information 
collection is achieved primarily by means of telephone calls from 
members of the public to Service offices specified in the individual 
regulations (some may choose to use facsimile or electronic mail). 
Reporting parties include, but are not limited to, individuals or 
households, farms, businesses, and other nonprofit organizations. We 
collect the following information:
    (a) Name, address, and phone number of the reporting party.
    (b) Type of incident.
    (c) Location and time of the incident.
    (d) Species of experimental population involved.
    (e) Description of circumstances related to the incident.
    The reporting of specimen collections, recovery, and dead 
individuals from experimental populations is important to our efforts 
to monitor these individuals and for other scientific purposes. Because 
the number of reports generated annually by the general public (rather 
than cooperating agencies or separately permitted individuals) under 
the experimental population regulations is extremely small (far less 
than one report per year, per rule) and to assure thorough 
documentation of results, we estimate the number of expected reports to 
assume a maximum number per year based on allowance for increased 
population size and public awareness of experimental populations. 
Several of the existing experimental populations described under 50 CFR 
17.84 contain information collection requirements. This information 
collection would also apply to any future experimental populations that 
become established that require the same types of reports as listed 
above.
    Title: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, 50 CFR 17.84, 
Experimental populations.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0095.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Frequency: Occasionally.
    Description of Respondents: Private individuals, households, 
businesses, nonprofit organizations, and farms.
    Total Annual Responses: 62.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 15.5 hours.

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                                                                                   Average time
                                                                     Number of     required per    Total annual
                         Type of report                             respondents       report      burden (hours)
                                                                                     (minutes)
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General take or removal.........................................              20              15               5
Depredation related take........................................              22              15             5.5
Specimen collection.............................................              20              15               5
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    We again invite comments concerning this information collection on: 
(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of our native endangered and threatened species 
management functions, including whether or not the information will 
have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden 
of the collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and, (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. 
The information collections in this program are part of a system of 
records covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).

    Dated: October 20, 2004.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 04-24207 Filed 10-28-04; 8:45 am]
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